Challenges and Opportunities for Strengthening the Institutional Framework for Consumer Protection
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
The State Inspectorate for the Supervision of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection in Moldova has recently received a broader mandate covering digital content and digital services, but its administrative capacity has not kept pace. An Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” analysis, produced under an EU-backed project, sets out how the institution could be strengthened.
The Inspectorate is also responsible for alternative dispute resolution in consumer disputes and runs the single consumer call centre. It faces a systemic staff shortage, uncompetitive pay for executive posts and insufficient levers to coordinate sectoral authorities. It also acts in practice as a consumer ombudsman, which absorbs operational time and limits its focus on systemic market problems.
Competences are shared among 12 authorities, and no exhaustive inventory of services has been made, creating grey areas and repeated redirection of petitions. Law No. 247/2024, in force from 26 November 2025, requires specialised software, legal staff and technical experts. The proposed reforms are phased: a distinct institutional identity, greater functional and financial autonomy, clearer coordination, filling critical posts, making alternative dispute resolution operational, and automation to cut administrative burden.
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